What to clean before the boxes come in, and what new Pittsburgh residents should know about their water, lead service lines, brown water days and trash pickup in the city and nearby townships.
The best time to clean a home is the day before you move in, when every cabinet is empty and every floor is bare. It is also a good moment to learn how the house works: where the water comes from, which day the trash goes out, and what the local rules are for the bags and boxes a move produces.
This guide covers both for the city of Pittsburgh and the suburbs around it.
Pittsburgh Water draws all of its drinking water from the Allegheny River and uses no ground or well water. Its treatment plant on Freeport Road, across from Aspinwall, treats 65 to 75 million gallons a day on average and serves more than half a million customers. The 2025 water quality report lists calcium in treated water at about 28 parts per million, within a range of 18 to 38.
The suburbs are served differently. Cranberry Township buys all of its water from the West View Water Authority, which treats Ohio River water at its Neville Island and Baden plants. Upper St. Clair lists Pennsylvania American Water as its residents' water company. Check your first bill to confirm which utility you have.
Lead service lines are still being replaced across the system. Pittsburgh Water crews replaced over 1,800 public and close to 1,800 private lead lines in 2025, and the utility adds orthophosphate to the water to limit lead coming from pipes. If you are not sure what your line is made of, ask the utility before you move in.
Some days the tap may run brown or cloudy. The utility says hydrant flushing and main repairs can stir up mineral sediment and discolor water, and it advises waiting to do laundry until the water clears. On move-in day, run the cold tap for a while before filling buckets, and hold off on washing new linens if the water looks off.
Moving creates a mountain of cardboard. Knowing the pickup rules before the truck shows up keeps it from piling up in the garage or on the porch.
An empty home is the one time you can reach everything. Focus on the places that will be hidden once furniture and dishes go in: inside kitchen and bathroom cabinets, inside the oven and refrigerator, closet shelves, baseboards behind where the couch will go and the tracks of every window.
That is exactly what the Moving Clean covers. The Moving Clean includes the deep clean list, hand washed baseboards, window tracks, fans and vents wiped in place, plus the inside of the oven, refrigerator and cabinets. Cleaners do not take boxes, packing material or leftover furniture out of the house, so plan those around the trash rules above.
About 46.6 percent of city homes were built in 1939 or earlier. The EPA notes that homes built before 1978 are more likely to have lead paint and that settled lead dust can lift during vacuuming or sweeping. In an older home, a move-in clean with HEPA vacuuming and damp wiping is a sensible first step, especially for families with young children. Read the older home cleaning guide for more, and the move-out cleaning guide if you are leaving a rental on the way in.
The questions Pittsburgh homeowners ask most often about this topic, answered plainly.
TotalCare Cleaning will service Pittsburgh and surrounding areas with background-checked cleaners and is insured up to $1 million. Re-clean guarantee: if we missed something, tell us by the end of the next day and we come back to fix it. Beyond Clean. TotalCare.
